Less is More! Notes about the Yearlong Clothes Fast

My living room/dining room transformed through the process

At the beginning of the year I decided to do a fast. 
A clothes fast.
A fast from buying clothes, jewelry, accessories.

For a year.
That was the commitment.

It is now mid-August and I’ll be honest, I’ve broken the fast. I have purchased shoes that I “needed,” a purse “that will last me a lifetime.” I’m sure you get it. Like all great dieters know, we rationalize whether it’s to have that piece of chocolate while on your diet, or to buy that piece of clothing when on a year-long clothes fast.

Before I dive into why I broke the fast, I want to take you back to the beginning of the year, my commitment and what that commitment led to and how it’s changed me and my house this year. Because, it’s been profound. 

going to the clothes swap

Check this out…. So, within the first two weeks of my clothes fast, I was invited to a clothes swap. I was beyond thrilled. I immediately felt like the Universe had my back.  I was dealing with withdrawal symptoms from not being able to pop into my thrift shop for my weekly visit to find something.I was also twitchy, irritated and cranky. So when someone in the community invited me to her clothes swap my inner teenager was ecstatic. “Loophole!”

Now, I have to point out that I’d given myself the “ok” to go to clothes swaps, and to give my nice clothes to consignment stores, where I could “spend” the credit. So, loopholes for acquiring clothes were already in play. As long as I wasn’t spending any money to get the clothes, the way they flowed into my wardrobe was irrelevant. I also informed  my friends of my clothes fast and invited them to  give me any clothes they might be purging from their wardrobes.

Back to the clothes swap. I quickly  ran through my closet and pulled out 4 bags worth of clothes so easily it was scary. This swap was the beginning of sorting, clearing, purging, not just clothes but my entire house. 

Shortly after New Year’s I began listening to the podcast called The Wannabe Minimalist (now Wannabe Clutter Free) and the host offered a challenge to get rid of 496 items in your house in a month. The idea was to begin with 31 things the first day, then go down to 30 things the next, 29 the next etc. I took it on and that began an avalanche that led me to purge my house of things I don’t use, don’t love, or was keeping “just in case.”  Through that process I got real with myself about how I use the space in my house, or more importantly how I DIDN’T use space in my house. 

For example, I had an old desk that had some kind of stuck energy, a desktop Macintosh I never used, and I had turned my dining room into an office that was a dumping ground for  papers, books, bags, and things I didn’t want to deal with. I no longer had a dining room and I sat at the back of my kitchen using my laptop to do my work and sat at a table I’d had for 30 years that I no longer loved. I was keeping it because my parents had given it to me.

What began as a clothes fast soon turned into a hurricane of change in my house. I had some serious talks with myself about how I wanted to use my house, and what I could let go of even though I thought I couldn’t.

My living room soon became a transition room full of bags I would take to the Goodwill, the American Cancer Society, to my high end clothes consignment shop. I sold my desktop computer, got rid of the desk and once the office was cleared out I got a bee up my bonnet to change the color in the “office" to transform it into a dining room. 

So I painted the dining room, which led to painting the living room.

By the end of April I had gotten rid of at least 500 things in my home, repainted both the living room and dining room, bought a “new” desk, a “new” dining room table and I had a space to entertain at home. I reconfigured my office space into part of another room, and it remains mostly clutter free. 

So, in June, when I felt the urge to buy a cute pair of summer sandals that fit me and were comfortable, I checked in with myself about the desire. Was this just me “wanting” something or was there something more? Was I at the mid-year point and just couldn’t hack the yearlong fast?

No, this felt like a real want/desire that I decided to give myself permission to get those shoes and enjoy summer with cute sandals. Because, guess what, I actually didn’t have ANY cute sandals. And a girl’s gotta have at least one pair of cute sandals! I figured, I’d made up the yearlong clothes fast rule, and I could change that rule if I wanted to.

However, when a person announces to their entire community that they are doing a yearlong clothes fast, and people ask about it, it seems only fair to come clean and let you know what’s happened. 

I have several takeaways from this practice of not buying clothes, which led to purging items in my house, which led to redoing parts of my house with paint, and here they are….

• Once I got past the habitual behavior of buying things out of habit and began focusing on what I already own, I began to appreciate and love the things I already have. I stopped looking for something new all of the time.

• I now use the clothes in my closet that I’ve kept and I feel great wearing everything because I only kept what I love. I still have an abundance.

• The energy in my house feels lighter, clearer and when I look around I love all of the little corners filled with things I enjoy.

• I realize I have everything I need.

• My impulse to buy things has been reduced by 75% at least. I now pause and consider what I buy and am more mindful about bringing things into my home.

• I “shop” in my own house for presents and gifts to give to friends (which I’ve done for a long time) and it feels great to pass on things I love so I make room for other things to flow to me.

• I notice I want to own less and am more in the present moment enjoying something for the simple moment.

My biggest takeaway is that less is more. I have less to take care of, sort through, dust, clean and eventually throw out. I like having less and really being able to see the beauty in what I do have.

I’m going to continue to practice traveling lightly, at home and on the road.

nook at the back of my kitchen where friends sit when I cook

Day 17 of the Yearlong Clothes-Buying-Fast

It’s day seventeen of my yearlong Clothes-Buying-Fast.
But who’s counting?
Only 348 to go!

Just today I walked past my favorite high-end consignment shop on my way to meet some artist friends at a close by coffee haunt. This is the store where I get my nice things – my Lulu Lemon yoga clothes, my Italian boots, my Coach bags.

The store is small, sits on a corner and has large windows with displays of fun, funky, elegant fashion for a third of the retail price. Now, on any regular day, in past years, I would have allotted time to pop into my favorite store, peruse the well-curated wares and most likely (because, whose kidding who?) buy something.

Something new.
Something that feels good.
Something that looks fabulous.
Something I don’t need, because, well, I probably have something like it at home already.

But today was different.
Today I knew I wouldn’t be going into that store to look around and dream about where I could wear the new item I might find on my treasure hunt.

Today, I had to resist temptation.
I walked by.

Of course, I looked.

I saw the cute leather bags in the window, the snazzy cowboy boots paired with flared maroon pants. I saw an irresistible sweater I would want to try on if I opened the door and stepped in. I felt the longing, the pang, the desire, and at that point I turned my head away, focused on the few steps I needed to take to get safely to the coffee shop without walking through the doors.

“Whew,” I said to myself under my breath. “That was hard. This yearlong Clothes-Buying-Fast is going to TEST me.”

I must confess, however, last night I went to a clothing exchange. Clothing exchanges are on the “OK” list. There is no cash involved. Only clothes exchanged from my closet with other peoples’ clothes from their closets. I was lucky enough to haul home three dresses, two new pair of leggings, some “new” slippers and two gifts.

Let’s just say, I’d gotten the hit of adrenaline that happens when we find some new piece of clothing we like. Right ladies? You know what I’m talking about 

Even though I’d just come home with “new” items, I felt the familiar feeling walking by my corner store. I felt the longing to run my hands over beautiful THINGS, cashmeres, silks, fondle the leather bags. And this desire is not born out of need.

It is born out of some deeper place of want.
Of desire.
Of promise.

Yes, it is a promise of having something so fabulous, so beautiful that it will make me feel that much more beautiful. It’s the promise of having some place to wear it, go out, enjoy the titillating excitement of, perhaps, a date.

Oh.
There.

I said it.

A date.

It’s been years.
It’s really been a lifetime that I haven’t dated.
Because I never really have.

I’ve never liked dating.
The truth is, I don’t know how to date.
I’m really a much better friend.
Much better partner.

But dating is so gray and in-between.
It’s all about feeling things out.
Trying things on.
Saying yes to this.
No to that.

It’s full of potential pitfalls.
Hurt feelings.
Rejection.
Misunderstandings.
Confused boundaries.

The truth is, I’d rather scrub the grout clean between the tiles on my kitchen floor before choosing to date.

I don’t want to end up in the rejection pile, like old clothes that don’t get chosen at the clothing exchange and wait in a pile to go to the Women’s Shelter.

So, perhaps this year is about getting even more comfortable with the clothes I have, the ones I already love and spend time living into the promise of my own life.

Perhaps, then the new kick ass boots, or fabulous new bag will land in my life from out of nowhere, like the non-date who will show up with no warning and it will feel just right.